1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carbon nanotube (CNT) composite and a preparation method of the same, and particularly to a CNT composite on which metal particles can be uniformly fixed, that has improved mechanical and electrical properties, and that can be applied to various industrial fields, and a preparation method of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNT) was reported by lijima in 1991, numerous studies regarding CNT as a nano-material have been undertaken, and remarkable improvements in the physical and mechanical properties of the CNT have been reported by many researchers.
Recently, interest in the CNT has increased because the CNT is expected to contribute to future nano-engineering fields when it is used as a reacting template for growing nanotubes or nanorods of other materials. Particularly, applied research on nano-electron device technologies such as a CNT memory and a logic device that will overcome the limitations of the present semiconductor technology, a field emission emitter and a display application technology using its superior field emission property, application technologies of a fuel cell and a lithium ion battery using its large surface area, a composite for an electromagnetic shield and a highly sensitive material, a highly sensitive nano-sensor, and the like are being carried out at home and abroad.
Furthermore, research on CNT-nanoparticle composites of which the nanoparticles are bonded to the CNT is actively being undertaken. According to the research, the CNT-nanoparticle composite can be applied to a catalyst, a chemical sensor, or a nano-sized electromagnetic device, because it is possible to apply the properties of the nanoparticles as well as the properties of the CNT itself. For such applications, various technologies for fixing the nanoparticles to the CNT while maintaining the inherent properties of the CNT and the nanoparticles are being developed.
Particularly, since the CNT-metal nanoparticle composite can be utilized as many forms of electronic materials, various methods for fixing the metal nanoparticles to the CNT have been suggested. For example, a preparation method of the composite by physically mixing the CNT and metals has been suggested, but it has a disadvantage in that it is difficult to apply the composite as an electronic material, because the metals are not properly bonded to the CNT in the composite, or are not dispersed uniformly and are agglomerated together. Accordingly, a method of chemically bonding the metal to the CNT has been suggested, but it has a problem that the metal nanoparticles are not uniformly fixed to the CNT and the size of the metal particles fixed thereto is not uniform.